The present invention relates to vehicle occupant restraint systems and more particularly to an improved air bag restraint system for protecting the occupant in the seat of a high-speed vehicle during emergency seat ejection.
In the flight of high-performance aircraft, emergency ejection of the pilot and other aircrewmen runs the substantial risk of critical personal injury and loss of life due to the high speeds of ejection and the high-acceleration or Q forces to which the ejected occupants are exposed. In the typical upward acceleration of the ejection seat, severe head, neck and vertibral injuries are likely to occur unless the head and upper body of the occupant is properly positioned just prior to ejection, and the head and neck sufficiently restrained to prevent rotation during the ejection sequence. In addition, windblasts of up to 1600 pounds per square foot are usually applied to the occupant upon ejection and can cause serious limb flail injuries, dislocating arms and legs of the occupant if improperly positioned or insufficiently restrained.
Various occupant restraint systems have performed satisfactorily the separate tasks of head and torso positioning, neck and limb retention, and high Q protection for aircraft ejection operations. None of the existing systems, however, have been able to afford complete protection for the ejected aircrewman witnout becoming too complicated and costly or without unduly interfering with normal control operations of the crewman.